Proof press



June 20, 1939. J. 5 LEE 2,162,816

PROOF PRESS Filed Oct. 26, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 lnven fovs @1399;

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June 20, 1939. J. E. LEE ET AL PROOF FRESS iled Oct. 26, 1936 3Sheets-Sheet 2 are-em :mrmc a m '(iIEd "W man 'Xbax June 20, 1939. 5 LET AL 2,162,816

' PROOF PRESS Filed Oct. 26, 1936 s Sheets-Sheet a 1. Idgm Lee.

imam i015 Tve. an 42mm WM K Patented June 20, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE PROOF PRESS poration of Michigan Application October 26, 1936,Serial N0. 107,660

5 Claims.

This invention relates to a proof press which is useful in printingproofs without the need of entering and locking the forms in a regularprinting press. With our present invention the '5' type, illustrationplates and the like are properly held and located upon a movable bedassociated with which is a pressure cylinder over which the paper to bepressed upon the inked type is carried. The paper in the movements of10' the cylinderand bed is pressed by the cylinder against the-typewhich has been inked whereby a proof sheet is printed which may beexamined for mistakes and correction thereof before the form is lockedin a printing press for printing an 16 indefinitenumber of copies, as ina newspaper or' the like.

The present invention is concerned with many novel constructions andcombinations for effectively attaining the various purposes of the in-20 vention; Among such purposes isa-novel means for releasably clampingthe edge of the paper to be printed, prior to the rotative movement ofthe cylinder and the longitudinal movement of the bed, both the clampingof the paper and the 2' rotation of the cylinder thereafter, togetherwith the movement of the bed, being performed by manually turning acrank attached to a shaft on which the cylinder is mounted. A further 7object and purpose of the invention is to provide a means forautomatically elevating the cylinder at the end of a printing operationso that the printed proof sheet may be readily removed. Associated withthe mechanism for elevating the cylinder is a manual means foraccomplishing 35 the cylinder elevation in the case of printing shortproof sheets, the printing of which would be accomplished before theautomatic cylinder elevation stage of operation is reached.

Further objects are to provide suitable stops 40 for stopping the partsin predetermined position both the initial position of the mechanism andthe final position after the proof sheet has been printed, and a novelmeans for securing a suitable tympan to the cylinder in a position such45 that the paper upon which the printing is pressed rides over thetympan and does not bear directly against a hard unyielding metallicsurface such as the cylinder surface during the printing operation.

50 All of these objects and purposes and a great many others not at thistime specifically stated will be apparent, as an understanding of thestructures embodying the inventions is had from the followingdescription, taken in connection 55 with the accompanying drawings, inwhich,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the proof press made in accordance withour invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section taken substantially on theplane of the broken line 2-2 of Fig. 3. V v

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section substantially on the plane ofvthe broken line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged transverse section through the upperpart of the cylinder when the same is in its initial or startingposition, and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary transverse section substantially on the plane ofline 5-5 of Fig. 4'.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figuresof the drawings.

The machine which we have produced includes in its structure ahorizontal supporting table I at the side edges of which arelongitudinal upwardly extending sides 2. This table is supported at itscorners by suitable posts 3. The upper edges of the sides 2 providetracks for lengths of roller chain 4, as shown in Fig. 3. On the chains,which furnish an anti-friction support therefor, a bed 5 is mounted forlongitudinal movement, having downwardly extending flanges or sides 6which bear against the upper sides of the rollers of the chains 4. Thetype, held in a suitable chase, is placed upon and secured at the upperside of the bed 5 as indicated in dotted lines at 'l in Fig. 3. Alongitudinal bar 8 is bolted to one side of the bed 5 and its upper edgeis provided with a plurality of consecutive gear teeth thus making arack, as best shown'in Fig. l.

Two housing members 9 are secured, one at each side of the machine,being permanently bolted at their lower portions to the sides 2 of thetable previously described and extending upwardly therefrom. The housingmembers are formed with elongated vertical openings in each of which ajournal box 10 is slidably mounted, having connection at its lower sideto the upper end of a post II. A screw threaded rod l2 threads into thelower end of the post and passes downwardly through a cross bar 6aextending between the parts of the housing member at each side of thevertical opening described. At its lower end the rod l2 threads into avertical cylindrical member l3 integral with which, at its 0 lower end,is an eccentric housing l4. Eccentrics I5 are mounted in the housings M,a horizontal shaft l6 extending across and underneath the table andbeing keyed to the eccentrics'oifcenter thereof as shown in Fig. '1. Theshaft is mounted in suitable bearings |6a (Fig. 3) fixed to theunderside of the table I. It is evident that on turning the shaft I6 thejournal boxes II will be elevated. A coiled spring I! is disposed aroundeach of the threaded rods l2, these springs resting at their lower endson the cross members 9a, and the tension of the springs is adjusted bymeans of nuts l8 threaded on the members l2 against the upper ends ofthe springs, whereby the springs serve to partly balance the weightwhich is carried by the journals l6. A gear I9 is fixed to the shaft |6substantially midway between its ends and is located in a position tomesh with the rack teeth cut at the underside of a bar 26 which isslidably mounted at the upper side of the table I (Fig. 2), the rackoperating the gear l9 at the ends of the inward and outward movements ofthe bed 5.

A shaft 2| extends between and is rotatably mounted at its ends in thejournals 16 on which the pressure cylinder 22 is loosely mounted. At oneend of the cylinder 22 a gear 23 is secured (Fig. 3) which is in meshingengagement with the rack at the upper side of the bar 8. A crank 24 issecured to one end of the shaft 2| to manually turn the shaft.

At the end of the cylinder 22, opposite where the gear 23 is located, adriving and cam member 25 is keyed having a circular opening 26 therein(Fig. 2). A pin 21 of less diameter than the diameter of the opening 26projects from the end of the cylinder 22 into said opening. On turningthe shaft counterclockwise (Fig. 2) the first movement is to swing thedriving member 25 to the right and there will be no turning movement ofthe cylinder until the opposite side of the opening 26 engages againstthe pin 21.

From the upper portion of the member 25, in the position in which itoccupies at the initial or starting position of the mechanism (shown inFig. 2), a cam finger 28 extends to one side of which is a dwell 29located inwardly toward the axis of the shaft 2| from the outer end ofthe cam finger 26. A lever 36 is pivotally mounted between its ends onone end of a rock shaft 3| which extends lengthwise of and within theouter curved limits of the cylinder 22 and is mounted for rockingmovement in the ends of the cylinder. One .arm of the lever 36 carries aroller 32 which, in the position of the parts shown in Fig. 2, bearsagainst the outer end of the cam finger 28. It is apparent that with thefirst turning movement of the shaft 2| and before any rotation of thecylinder 22 takes place the cam finger 28 will have movedcounterclockwise to the left away from the roller 32 which will thenbear upon the dwell 29 and the rock shaft 3| will be rocked clockwise ashort distance. The rocking is performed by a coiled spring 35. A rod 33is pivotally connected to the opposite end of the lever 36 and extendsslidably through a block 34 swivelly connected at the same end of thecylinder 22, the coiled compression spring 35 being located around therod between said block and the head of said rod, the force of the springtending to move the lever 36 in a counterclockwise direction.

The cylinder 22 has a continuous cylindrical surface around the majorportion thereof but such cylinder is cut away for a part of its area anda clamping flange 36 turned inwardly as shown in Fig. 4 substantially atthe uppermost part of the cylinder when said cylinder is in its initialposition. A clamping bar 31 is located alongside of the clamping flange36 and suitable clamping screws 38 are passed through the bar 31 andthreaded into the flange 36. Pins 39 having rounded heads are carried bythe flange 36 below the clamping screws 38 so that when the screws aretightened the upper portions of the clamping bar 31 are brought intotight clamping engagement against an inturned edge portion of a tympan46. The tympan may be and usually is of suitable paper which is carriedaround substantially three-fourths of the surface of the cylinder, theopposite end being rolled upon a suitable roll-up, not shown in thedrawings. It is evident that whenever any tympan section has becomedeteriorated or damaged in use, it may be cut from the roll of paper towhich attached and additional paper then unrolled .and clamped betweenthe flange 36 and the clamping bar 31.

At the upper part of the clamping bar 31 a plurality of verticallyspaced apart stop fingers 4| are permanently secured and extend a shortdistance above the upper edge of the bar 31. On the rock shaft 3| aplurality of clamping fingers 42 (Figs. 3 and 4) are mounted and extendso that their free ends come above the bar 3! and between the stopfingers 4|. When the shaft 3| is automatically rocked at the first partof the turning movement given to the shaft 2|, that is, when the roller32 drops to the dwell 29, the free end of the clamping fingers 42 comedown against the upper edge of the clamping bar 31, or in practice,against the edge of paper which is to be printed andwhich has beeninserted so that its edge comes against the stop fingers 4|, beingthereafter clamped by the spring pressure of spring 35 acting throughthe clamping fingers 42. The paper is fed to position over an inclinedfeed table. Supporting members 43 are fixed at their lower portions tothe table and the inclined feeding table 44 is pivotally connected at 45to the supports 43 occupying the position shown in Fig. 1 when in use,though the table may be turned about the pivots 45 to an outof-the-wayposition.

Bent arms 46 are secured to a rod 41 which is mounted .at its ends onbrackets 48 attached to the upper part of the housings 9. The bent arms46 extend over the cylinder 22 and have a shaft 5| rotatably mountedbetween and at their free ends on which are rollers 49 which ride uponthe ends of the cylinder 22. A plurality of downwardly curved members 56are located on and attached to the shaft 5|. From the shaft 41 aplurality of spaced members 52 extend downwardly, to each of which acurved spring bar 53 is secured extending downwardly and partly aroundthe cylinder 22 (see Fig. 2)

Brackets 54 and 55, located in different vertical planes, .are bolted tothe upper side of the table 2 (Figs. 2 and 3) each of which at its upperend carries a rod 56 around which is a coiled bumper spring 51, each rod56 at its end having a nut with a washer 58 between the adjacent end ofthe spring 51 and the nut (Fig. 2). Brackets 59 and 66 also located indifferent vertical planes are permanently secured substantially at theopposite ends of the bar 26. Two cooperating members 6| and two stops62, one only of each being shown in Fig. 2, are connected to theunderside of the bed 5. When one of the members 6| engages bracket 66 itmoves the bar 26 longitudinally, thereby automatically rotating theshaft I6 and lifting the cylinder. This occurs before one of the stops62 comes against the corresponding spring bumper stop 5'! whichthereupon prevents further movement of the bed 5. The other member 59and the other spring bumper stop 58 carried by the bracket 54, whenengaged by cooperating members like those shown at BI and 62 securedadjacent the opposite end of the bed 5, reverses the movement of the bar20, lowering the cylinder to initial position, after which the bed 5 isstopped in the initial position which it had before a printing operationtook place.

The shaft I6 is supplied with a crank 63 for manually lifting thecylinder 22 'to' an upper position in certain instances where the lengthof the proof sheet is shorter than its usual or maximum length, and theoperator does not need to rotate the cylinder the full distance and movethe bed 5 the full distance to automatically elevate the cylinder.

In operation, with the structure described, the parts being in theposition shown in Fig. 2, a sheet of paper, upon which a proof is to beprinted, is slid down the feed table M until its end edge strikesagainst the stop fingers 4|. When this occurs the clamping fingers 42are elevated above the position shown in Fig. 4 and the end edge of thepaper may pass underneath the free ends of the clamping fingers 42. Theoperator thereupon grasps the crank 24 and manually turns the shaft 2!.At the beginning of the movement, or whilethe pin 27 is movingrelatively from one side to the other of the opening 26, roller 32 ridesdown to the dwell at 29, the shaft 3! is rocked and the fingers 42 clampupon the edge of the paper. With a continued rotation of the shaft 2| ina counterclockwise direction (referring to Fig. 2) the paper is drawnunderneath the rollers 49 and underneath the spring members 53, and atthe same time, due to the engagement of the gear 23 with the rack on thebar 8, the bed 5 is moved inwardly from the position shown in Fig, lunderneath the cylinder, riding upon the rollers of the chains 4. Thetype indicated in dotted lines at 1 having been suitably inked, animpression of the type upon the paper occurs.

During the last part of the movement of the bed 5 one of the stops 6|comes into contact engagement with the bracket 60 moving the bar 20longitudinally and rotating the shaft IS with a consequent lifting ofthe cylinder above the paper which has been printed so that the printedproof sheet may be readily removed. One of the stops 62 describedthereafter strikes against the 5 spring bumper carried by the bracketsupport 55 limiting the inward movement of the bed and stopping themachine.

When the operator returns the parts to the initial position by reversingthe turning movement of the shaft 2| the first effect of such turningmovement is to move the cam member 25 to the position shown in Fig. 2,whereupon the cam finger 28 rides underneath the roller 32 with aconsequent lifting of the clamping fingers 42 to release the paper fromthe cylinder 22 so that it may be readily removed. And as previouslystated, the stop 62 will strike against the spring bumper stop carriedby the bracket 54 to properly stop the parts at their initial position,the bar 20 having previously been moved back by the engagement of theparts 59 and iii so as to lower the cylinder, but leaving the clampingfingers in an upper inoperative position.

In the case of printing proof on short sheets, so that the full inwardmovement of the bed 5 need not take place, lifting of the cylinder 22 isby manually operating the crank 63. The return'of the parts to theinitial position will result in an automatic lowering of the cylinderthe same as though the inward transverse movement of the bed had been toits innermost position instead of part way.

The structure described has proven very practical and satisfactory.There is no pressure of the clamping fingers against the tympan coveringof the cylinder or any possibility of the clamping fingers pressing thepaper into the tympan witha resultant wrinkling of the paper at'eachside of the depressions. Theconstruction is very efficient, is durable,and of a long life and has proved particularly satisfactory in use. Theinvention is defined in the appended claims and is to be consideredcomprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope.

We claim:

1. In a. structure of the class described, a horizontal support, a typecarrying bed mounted for longitudinal movement on the support, acylinder carried on said support above the bed, means for manuallyturning the cylinder, gearing between the cylinder and bed for movingthe bed longitudinally on turning said cylinder, a shaft on which thecylinder is mounted, bearings for the shaft, vertical supports in whichsaid bearings are vertically adjustably ,mounted, a second shaft carriedby the horizontal support, eccentrics thereon, means in journals on saidvertical supports between said bearings and eccentrics whereby turningsaid second shaft moves said bearings for the first shaft vertically toraise or lower the cylinder with respect to the bed, springs on saidlast named means to partly balance the weight carried by said journals,and means to regulate the tension of said springs.

2.'A construction containing the elements in combination defined inclaim 1, combined with a rack carried by the support and a gear on saidsecond shaft, said rack engaging with the gear at a predeterminedposition of the bed to thereby automatically elevate said bearings andthe cylinder onv continued movement of the bed.

3. In a printing press, a support, a bed longitudinally movable oversaid.- support, a manually operable rotatable cylinder adapted to beturned in either direction, gearing between the cylinder and bed forlongitudinally moving the bed on turning the cylinder, a shaft carryingsaid cylinder, means for adjustably supporting said shaft whereby thesame may be adjusted in a vertical direction to raise or lower thecylinder, and means for automatically elevating said cylinder at thesubstantial completion of a movement of the bed in one direction and forlowering the cylinder to its initial position on substantial completionof a movement of the bed in the opposite direction, including a secondhorizontal shaft mounted below said first shaft, journals on said firstshaft, means connecting said journals with eccentrics on said secondshaft and a coiled spring on said last named means for balancing theweight carried by said journals, and means for adjusting the tension ofsaid springs.

4. In a printing press, a support, a bed longitudinally movable back andforth thereon, a cylinder mounted for rotation above the bed, gearingbetween the cylinder and bed for longitudinally moving the bed onrotation of the cylinder, manually operable means for turning saidcylinder, a shaft on which the cylinder is mounted, verticallyadjustable journal boxes carrying the ends of the shaft, a second shaftmounted on the support, connections between said second shaft and thejournal boxes whereby rotation of said second shaft in one directionlifts said journal boxes and in the opposite direction lowers the same,a rack bar carried by the support, a pinion on said second shaft, saidrack bar being moved by the bed to engage with the pinion substantiallyat the ends of the movements of the bed in opposite directions tothereby rotate the shaft in one direction when the bed has been movedsubstantially to its extreme of movement in one direction and rotatingsaid second shaft in the opposite direction when the bed has been movedto substantially its ex-

